1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooking appliances, and more particularly, to electric ranges.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally speaking, electric ranges are appliances for cooking food via heat produced by electric heaters or other electric heating elements.
Such an electric range is mounted at a cook-top of an electric oven range, etc. Recently, devices for heating a cooking container by induction heating have been developed as replacements for burners using flames generated by the burning of fuel gas.
The application field of electric ranges of induction heating type is gradually expanding because the electric ranges are safer than gas ranges using burners. The electric ranges of induction heating type are designed to heat food contained in a metallic container by making use of a magnetic field caused around an induction heating coil by an electric current induced therein.
For the control of the electric current flowing through the induction heating coil, meanwhile, the electric ranges of induction heating type include circuit devices including semiconductors. However, the semiconductors tend to emit a large amount of heat, causing a malfunction of internal circuits so long as they are not effectively cooled.
To solve the above problem, a heat sink is provided in the electric ranges to absorb heat of the semiconductors to thereby discharge the heat to the outside. For this, the semiconductors are firmly affixed to the heat sink.
This solution, however, has a problem in that it is difficult to separate the semiconductors from the heat sink in the case of repair and exchange.